Calming the Storm
by ernnnnn
Summary: Bruce Banner has always been angry, refusing to let people close to him because of the risk they face being near him. But when someone new joins the S.H.I.E.L.D. team, will he be able to let her in or will he push her away like all the rest? Bruce Banner/OC. Told from both of their points of view but involves all of the Avengers.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello! This is my first Avengers story, and I'm excited to start writing it! I'm not an Avengers expert or anything, so please don't criticize too harshly if I get a fact or two wrong. This story focuses on Bruce Banner and an original character that I've created, but will involve all of the Avengers. PLEASE leave a review and let me know what you think! Thanks so much for reading! Enjoy!

-.-.-.-.-.-

"All Avengers report to the briefing room immediately."

Bruce sighed and set down the sample of mineral he had been examining. He had been deeply engrossed in his project, and wasn't aware of any meetings scheduled for the day. Regardless, he stood and made his way to the door, glancing behind him to make sure everything was in order. Once satisfied, he flipped off the light and headed towards the briefing room.

A few months ago, the Avengers team had defeated Loki and saved New York and the rest of the world from destruction. After Stark tower had been damaged during the attack, Tony had come up with plans to rebuild, and had converted it into the Avengers headquarters. Personal living quarters had been constructed for each Avenger, and after a while, everyone had moved in in some capacity. Thor flitted in and out between Asgard and Earth, but most of the others remained there permanently. The rooms had been built to fit their specific needs and personalities, so none of them felt the need to go anywhere else.

Bruce was the first one to reach the briefing room. He settled in one of the armchairs which formed a semi-circle around a large monitor on a table and waited. Not long after, Thor's booming voice echoed through the room as he greeted his friend.

"Ah! My mighty friend! Good to see you! I just returned from Asgard this morning."

Bruce suppressed a grin and nodded. He had in fact seen Thor earlier that morning, but decided not to mention it. "Good to see you too, buddy."

Clint and Natasha arrived next, each holding a coffee and each other's hand. They had gotten together recently, and their relationship seemed to be going swimmingly. They were followed by Steve, who took the seat next to Bruce and yawned.

"I was just taking a nap. Any idea what this is about?"

"Nope, none. I didn't think we had anything scheduled this week."

"Me neither. Where's Stark? He's always late." Steve turned to converse with Thor, who had just noticed him.

Finally, Tony strolled into the briefing room. "Alright, I'm here now. We can begin. Oh wait - no we can't, because Fury's never here on time. I'll give him five min-"

"Sit down Tony." Nick Fury shot Tony a look as he strode past him to the table at the front. Tony frowned and took a seat. Nick ignored his pouting and began.

"As you all are aware, we lost a member of the S.H.I.E.L.D. team earlier this year when Agent Coulson was murdered by Loki. We've gotten by for the past few months, but now we've decided to fill in the gap and hire another team member."

"So what do you need us for? Are we supposed to pick someone out?" Steve inquired.

"No. We've done that. We're going to introduce you now so that she can get started working with you and getting to know her way around here."

Tony perked up. "She?"

"Yes, Stark. She. And how is Ms. Potts doing?"

Tony scowled and sat back in his seat, muttering what sounded suspiciously like, "Just because I've already ordered doesn't mean I can't still look at the menu…"

"Anyway… I'd like to introduce you to our newest team member."

The door at the front of the room opened and out stepped a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties with long sandy brown hair.

"Everyone please welcome Miss Chelsea Barton."

Clint spat out his coffee. Wiping at his mouth, he stared up at the woman disbelievingly. "WHAT? No, no way. Are you kidding me? She's too young! She's only 26!"

"Age has nothing to do with it. She's extremely qualified, Clint."

"Qualified? She has a freakin' English degree and is a high school teacher! I hardly call that qualified!"

Chelsea stepped forward. "I haven't been a teacher for 3 years now. Ever since the incident in Budapest, I've been training with the CIA. So actually, Clinton, I'm pretty qualified for this job."

Clint scowled. "Don't call me Clinton. That's not the point. You shouldn't… you can't… you're too –"

"Too what? Young? I may still be your younger sister but I'm not a baby anymore. Besides, this isn't your decision. I'm here and that's final." She crossed her arms and took a step back. "Sorry for taking over, Agent Fury. My brother may need some time to get used to the idea of me being here."

Nick smirked. "It's fine. Now then, over the next few days you will each have a session with Agent Barton so that she can assess and understand each of your abilities. She will be one of the main strategists during missions, so she will need to be familiar with what you all can do. You'll find out your session time by tomorrow morning. Meeting adjourned."

Clint immediately got up to argue some more with Nick and Chelsea. The rest of them stood up casually, chatting with each other, and headed out of the room. Bruce remained seated for a few minutes, watching the new agent. He was not looking forward to his session with her. He never liked the fear in people's eyes when they saw him transform for the first time. However, it was best to get it over sooner rather than later so that she wasn't frightened of him during a mission. Still, it was a whole new person to get used to being around, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread about the whole situation. Only time would tell though, so he left the briefing room and tried to put it out of his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Yikes you guys, I'm so sorry about taking so long to update. School definitely got away from me, but now that I'm on break, I plan on writing a lot over the next few weeks. I promise I'm not abandoning the story! I have it all planned out, it's just a matter of writing it now. Thank you to those of you who reviewed! I really like hearing what you think! Here's another chapter for you, and I won't keep you hanging quite as long this time!

-.-.-.-.-.-

Up early as usual, Bruce spent most of the next morning hidden away in the lab. He worked undisturbed for a few hours before he was interrupted by a text from Agent Hill, telling him that he'd be meeting the new agent at two o'clock in one of the reinforced practice arenas Tony had installed in the tower. He sighed and tossed his phone onto the counter and ran a hand over his face.

He'd been unable to get a solid read on Chelsea the night before, during the brief periods when they'd been in the same room. Almost every time he saw her, Clint was trying to argue with her while she studiously ignored him. Instead, she'd taken to chatting with Steve, and they seemed to have gotten comfortable with each other. He'd offered to help her move her things into her room and rearrange her furniture, which Chelsea had accepted immediately, wishing to get away from her brother's pestering. Maybe Steve and Chelsea would find more than friendship in each other.

_Good for him,_ thought Bruce. _He could use a nice girl to take care of._ She seemed nice enough, but you could never tell the first day. First impressions can be deceiving.

Bruce worked through lunch, pushing the afternoon from his mind as best as he could. When he could stall no longer, he put his things away and made his way towards the practice arena.

-.-.-.-.-.-

"So, is what they did genetic?"

Steve shrugged, glancing at his arm and flexing it. "I don't really know. They just told me that I was going to be a 'super-soldier.' It's all science stuff, I don't know the logistics."

Chelsea grinned and nodded. "I was never very good at science myself. Always preferred reading and writing over crunching numbers and figuring out chemical compounds." She glanced at her watch. "Well, you're done! Thanks so much, this was great."

"No problem. See you around." Steve waved and headed towards the door to the arena, sidestepping Bruce who had just entered. Bruce gave him a brief nod and made his way to where Chelsea was bent over a table, scribbling something on a piece of paper.

When he reached her, he held out his hand. "Agent Barton? I'm Bruce Banner."

Chelsea glanced up, and her concentrated expression softened into a smile. She straightened and stuck her hand out to shake his. "Hi, Bruce. Call me Chelsea, please."

He nodded and swallowed, taking a step back. She didn't seem nervous at all, even though she was about to be in the same room as the most dangerous thing in this tower. Maybe it was just a show. She'd be terrified the minute he transformed, he just knew it.

She was watching him curiously, and he cleared his throat. "So I just… do my thing?"

Chelsea nodded, and walked around the table so she was only a few feet away. He narrowed his eyes and turned to walk towards the center of the arena. "You might want to avert your eyes; the transformation can be a bit overwhelming," he called over his shoulder, half sarcastic and half serious.

"I think I can handle it." Bruce could practically feel the cheeky grin emanating from her.

He stopped a safe distance away and turned back, surprised to see Chelsea standing in a defiant pose, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised, as if daring him to frighten her. He fought to suppress a sudden smile at her attitude. Everyone he'd met had always approached him with a certain amount of fear – usually hidden, of course, but it was always there. With Chelsea, it seemed that there was not an ounce of fear, even under the surface. _How strange_. Nonetheless, he pushed the thought out of his mind, and focused on becoming his big green alter-ego.

Over the past few months, Bruce had been working on trying to control himself while he was the Hulk. He'd gotten to the point where he could transform under his own control. He'd have to think of something to be angry enough to do it, but it was his choice, and that made the difference. Sure, he'd still transform when his rage got out of hand, but now he could transform at will when needed for the Avengers Initiative. And, whenever he transformed under control, he had better capabilities to communicate and act on his own accord. It wasn't perfect, but he could recognize people and direct his actions in a way that helped instead of hurt.

Changing back, however, was a different story. He still couldn't figure out how to revert to his human form quickly. To change back, he'd need to be calm. So far, the shortest amount of time it had taken him to change back had been 4 hours. It was like nothing could put him into a calm state except time. It was extremely frustrating and often embarrassing, like that one night when they'd had to have a meeting in the practice arena because he wasn't able to fit into the conference room in Hulk form. So, the process of returning to human form was still a work in progress.

After a few minutes of concentrating on an angry memory he pulled from his mind, Bruce felt himself transform. He opened his eyes and glanced over at Chelsea, hoping to see her rattled or something.

_Nothing. Absolutely nothing_.

She stood there just as she had moments before, yet with a new subtle expression on her face. Bruce wanted to read it as fear, but he had to admit that he only saw excitement and wonder in her expression. No fear, no shock, no apprehension. He could still feel a sort of challenge in her stance, daring him to try to frighten her. So, he decided to take it on.

He spent the next half hour throwing things around the room, smashing tables and walls and equipment to pieces, and leaping far across the arena. He made sure to growl more than necessary, and quite loudly too. After exhausting his repertoire of moves and seeing no change in her expression, he decided to try one more thing. From the opposite end of the arena from Chelsea, he got a running start and barreled towards her, skidding to a stop in front of her. He bent down so that his face was inches from hers and bared his teeth in a snarl.

Chelsea stood her ground. _Unbelievable_, he thought. Bruce felt the fierce expression slip from his face as panted, trying to catch his breath from the past half hour of activity. He took a moment to survey her face up close, still inches away. Still no terror, just a calm expression of acceptance.

Slowly, letting him anticipate her actions so as not to startle him, Chelsea uncrossed her arms and reached one hand towards his face. When he didn't pull away, she rested her hand on his cheek, eyes roaming over his face.

He froze when he felt Chelsea's hand on his cheek. To anyone else, it wouldn't seem like much. But to him, he felt acceptance and understanding in her touch. He watched her eyes glance over him.

_She has gorgeous eyes_. They were a light brown color with flecks of gold and green that flashed and danced in the light. Bruce couldn't help but be mesmerized by them, and he took a few moments to stare, still conscious of her hand on his cheek.

Suddenly, instead of towering over her, he was only slightly taller than her, still face to face with her hand on his cheek. Confused, he glanced down to see that his skin was not green, but his regular flesh color. Oh, and he was naked.

Cursing quietly, he quickly snatched up the scraps of the jeans he'd been wearing and covered himself up. He glanced back up to see Chelsea unperturbed, holding out an undamaged pair of pants. Bruce took them from her and she averted her eyes while he hurriedly pulled them on. When he zipped them up, she glanced back up at him with a smile.

"That was great! It really gave me a feel for what you can do. Very impressive, I must say."

Bruce stared at her, barely listening to what she was saying. When he didn't reply, she shifted, unsure of herself. "Bruce? Are you okay?"

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. "I – what just happened?"

Chelsea frowned. "Um… You were showing me what you could do in Hulk form. You just transformed back."

Bruce ran a hand through his hair, still confused. "Yeah. But I never – I've never been able to – how did I transform back so quickly? It usually takes me hours!"

Chelsea opened her mouth and closed it again, obviously confused as well and at a loss for words.

He stared back at her. She had calmed him. Her touch, her eyes – everything about her. She had managed to calm him down enough to transform back in less than five minutes. He'd never come close to anything like that. This was impossible. Who was she to just waltz in here and be unafraid in his presence and THEN have the ability to calm him down? It was all too much.

Bruce shook himself, and then turned, hurrying towards the exit. "I gotta go. See you."

"Bruce! Wait -"

He ignored her call and let the door slam behind him. He'd deal with everything later. Right now, he just needed to be alone.


End file.
